In Memorium

In lieu of the recent loss of one of our cats, I was going to replace the usual Maypop Monday segment with a memorial post for our fallen family member. However, I did not have time yesterday, so I am doing it today.

Bagheera was born on May 7, 2010 to Lyra, our current matriarch. He had two brothers, Mowgli and Tybalt, and a sister, Socks. All of whom – to my knowledge – are still alive and well.
Bagheera was a very loving pet, and probably one of our most loyal cats. Many of our outdoor cats are wanderers, who will disappear for hours, days, or even weeks at a time. They turn up eventually, eager to come inside for a good snuggle with us after a long time away. Bagheera, however, was one of the few cats of our’s to never leave the yard. The only time he seemed to leave was to follow us on a walk. Otherwise, he was always lounging in the flower bed on the side of the house, or sitting regally on the porch as though on the watch for trouble. Bagheera was always right at my heels the second I stepped out the door, and was always waiting by the garage for us to come home in the evening so he could greet us with his typical incessant meowing and drawn-out rubs against our legs.
Bagheera died on June 7, 2013 after a vicious attack by what was previously thought to be a dog, though we are now considering the possibility that it was a coyote. From what we could tell, his back was broken in the attack. Bagheera spent the last hour and a half of his life in severe pain. He tried very hard to fight for his life, but in the end he did not succeed. He took his last breath around 6:15 am, surrounded by those who loved him the most: Phil, Rowan, and myself.
We buried Bagheera in the backyard, near the bird bath Friday morning. Over the small grave, we planted a flower from his favorite haunt on the side of the house.
Rest in peace, Baggy.

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This is the last photo I took with my camera. For every weekly photo I took out in the yard, there was at least one picture of Bagheera. He and Rowan (the dog) were great friends and always followed me around on my photo shoots.